News

Contact: Dave Ommen

On Monday, November 16, 2020, King’s Daughters’ Health, Madison, IN and Norton Healthcare, Louisville, KY signed a Letter of Intent enabling both healthcare systems an opportunity to explore the possibility of a partnership.

Under the Letter of Intent, King’s Daughters' Health (KDH) will continue its normal operations without any changes to its services or its physicians and employees. The Letter of Intent marks the beginning of a deeper partnership between King’s Daughters’ Health and Norton Healthcare as the two organizations currently enjoy an affiliation agreement for oncology (cancer) services with Norton Cancer Institute at KDH’s Cancer Treatment Center in Madison.

Annie Schroeder, KDH Board Chairman and Bethany Circle President, said both the Board and Bethany members believe sharing additional resources and expertise between KDH and Norton Healthcare will benefit patients, physicians, team members and the community. The Letter of Intent provides the framework for KDH and Norton Healthcare to begin working on a definitive agreement.

“The founding members of The Bethany Circle of King’s Daughters’ opened The King’s Daughters’ Hospital because they recognized the need for local families to have access to health services,” Schroeder said. “For more than 120 years, we have continued that mission. Today’s announcement provides us an opportunity to ensure that KDH will remain an integral part of the community for another century.”

In advance of this decision, the KDH Board of Managers spent several years studying the complex and ever-changing landscape of healthcare. As part of the evaluation process, the KDH Board of Managers secured Kaufman Hall, a nationally known company that helps organizations seek and explore partnership opportunities. Given how greater access to healthcare benefits local communities, the Board wanted KDH to grow and thrive well into the future.

“King’s Daughters’ commitment to quality, their talented providers and employees who support them, as well as their deep connections to community have long been impressive to us,” said Russell F. Cox, president and CEO, Norton Healthcare. “We are honored to partner with King’s Daughters’ to ensure exceptional care close to home and increased access to specialty care as needed. We share similar cultures as proven community leaders with a deep commitment to our employees, to our patients and their families and to the communities we are honored to serve. We look forward to working together.”

About KDH
Established by a group of women from the Presbyterian Church on August 25, 1899, KDH celebrated its 120th Anniversary in 2019. From its humble beginnings as a 15-bed hospital, KDH has grown into a regional health center, serving multiple counties in Indiana and Kentucky. Its primary campus and new hospital opened in 2013. More information is available at kdhmadison.org.

About Norton Healthcare
Norton Healthcare is a leader in serving adult and pediatric patients from throughout Greater Louisville, Southern Indiana, the commonwealth of Kentucky and beyond.
The not-for-profit hospital and health care system is Louisville’s fourth largest employer, with more than 16,700 employees, over 1,500 employed medical providers and approximately 2,000 total physicians on its medical staff. The system includes five hospitals with 1,907 licensed beds, seven outpatient centers, 16 Norton Immediate Care Centers, eight Norton Prompt Care at Walgreens locations and an expanded telehealth program. It provides care at more than 250 locations throughout Kentucky and Southern Indiana. The hospitals provide inpatient and outpatient general care as well as specialty care including heart, neuroscience, cancer, orthopedic, women’s and pediatric services. A strong research program provides access to clinical trials in a multitude of areas.
In 2019 Norton Healthcare was named by Healthiest Employers as the fifth healthiest place to work in the country and has twice been awarded an honorable mention for the C. Everett Koop National Health Awards. In 2020 Norton Healthcare’s five hospitals and Norton Cancer Institute were named LGBTQ Healthcare Equality Leaders by the Human Rights Campaign Foundation, earning a top score of 100 on the Healthcare Equality Index (HEI) for the third year in a row. More information is available at NortonHealthcare.com.